Temple of the Romans
by Sam Leonhart
Summary: A group of adventurers take on a rundown temple rumored to hold many treasures. But what is truly there, and will they survive?


**The Approach to the Temple of the Romans**

**Adventus ad Templum Romanorum**

The group stood in front of the old, depilated temple. It was ancient – Old patterns were still discernable, but the color has long since faded into a dull green. The hinges on the door had weakened and broken ages ago, and the wooden doors now lay on the ground, half rotten and nourishing the Earth that it had started in. There was a faint glow from within, and the stairs went downwards into its interior.

There were four in the group – An archer with long, unruly black hair, brown eyes, and wearing a drab green cloak over grey clothes to give himself rudimentary camouflage. There was a necromancer who had dark black cloak on, black gloves, holding his staff in his left hand, with leather armor barely visible, while his eyes showed a perverted glee. A half-elf priestess of Pelor, a sun god, wearing armor and having her sand colored hair hanging down on her back, held her mace and shield in hand. Finally was a warrior with brown spiked hair in black gear and a sword on his back.

They knew nothing of the temple. They had heard rumors of it from a nearby village, as well as what it supposedly contained. It is said to contain treasure, monsters, and glory. They all had the same items – A torch each, 2 potions to heal, a potion to restore mana, and 3 antidotes to cure poisons of all kinds.

The necromancer, Drake, walked up to the walls and took a closer look at them. As he examined the designs, the warrior Erik continued on into the temple. The group followed, although Drake was reluctant, since he was interested in finding interesting things outside.

They entered the atrium of the temple, which contained a large altar and several braziers. The braziers had been recently lit, so someone had been here recently to pray to the forgotten gods. There were three doors heading out of the room. On the left was a door emblazoned with a symbol of a sun. On the opposite wall, there was door with a moon symbol. Behind the altar, visible if you moved to the left or right slightly, was another door that showed an eclipse. However, the mosaic situated above the Eclipse Door is what grabbed their full attention.

It had to have been a Roman General. The red plume on the helmet was front to back, a major sign of a general. He had a red cape that, if it were a full painting, would look like it was flowing in wind. His chainmail armor was slightly dull, and he had his gladius sheathed above his left leg. His shield was oddly absent, and he had a quiver on his back. In his hand was a drawn longbow. There were letters, 'QV-N-S'.

Drake whistled, and shook his head proudly. "Damn, Leonidas looks badass." Erik nodded in agreement.

The archer, Altaris, knew differently. "That isn't Leonidas. Spartans fought almost naked in battle, and left archery to the other Greeks," he said, walking up to the altar. He tossed a gold piece onto it. "It's a Roman." Seles, the half-elf priestess, nodded in agreement.

Drake scowled, not liking being told he was wrong. "Well, how do you know?" he said, confrontational. Altaris smirked.

"Simple. The crest is raised OFF of the helmet – Spartans usually had it attached. Spartan shields were also round with delta on it." Erik interjected; ignoring the fact there was no shield. "Again, Drake, you fall to our combined knowledge, right, Al?" Altaris replied with an arched eyebrow and a skeptic smirk.

"Since when were we the best of friends? If I remember correctly," Altaris started, voice dripping with sarcasm, "you were threatening to kill me an hour ago, if that." Drake smirked and snickered.

"That's my gimmick, dude! I threaten to kill people," Erik said, putting his hands over his head in exasperation. Seles giggled.

"Final evidence of your insanity," Altaris said, grinning ear to ear like a certain striped, purple cat. "I knew we should've turned you into the local law enforcement." At this point, Drake and Seles were laughing, doubled over. Erik growled with feral rage, barely keeping his hand off his hilt.

"Well, maybe we try a room?" Seles said, catching her breath, trying to dissolve the tension. It worked with mediocre results.

"This one," Erik growled, heading for the moon door. He opened it and led the way in.


End file.
